


on today's episode of house hunters

by skioctober



Series: ode to self-indulgence [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, House Hunting, Self-Insert, because when will I ever be able to buy my own house, literally me just living vicariously through my fictional counterpart, real estate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 13:14:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19813024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skioctober/pseuds/skioctober
Summary: The house itself is perfect, exactly what she'd hoped it would be and everything she wants.But most importantly, in every room, anywhere she looked, she saw James.





	on today's episode of house hunters

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for the delay posting this, but my moving date is only a week away and I've been running on fumes trying to get everything done in time.
> 
> I'm happy with how this turned out, and I enjoyed having a little interlude with the sisters together.

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_You ready to go?_

Anna sends off the text to her sister and continues on with her morning routine. She's not usually up this early on a Saturday, but the realtor she's meeting with only had one time slot available.

Showered and scrubbed, she doesn't even bother reaching for her makeup. Late April is brutal this year, with a heat index of 101 already. It's unseasonable, and Anna's AC has been running nonstop since she came home from Hawaii.

A smile pulls at her lips, thinking of the vacation and what transpired on the island.

It had been impossible to hide the change in their relationship from Steve and Alyssa. One look at their stupidly grinning faces had Alyssa crowing in victory, and Steve looking every inch the smug jackass Anna has long suspected him of being.

The two had, after a solid twenty minutes of gloating, offered them sincere congratulations. They all went to dinner, where Steve graciously treated them to celebratory piña-coladas, and James had, sweetly, coaxed Anna into sharing a dance or three with him.

The sheer magic of the evening was, in her mind, unparalleled.

_Leaving now. Be there in 20._

Alyssa's response chimes loudly in the room and Anna nods to herself. Twenty minutes is plenty of time, so she starts pulling clothes from her closet, ignoring Frankie's plaintive demands for attention.

“You see me trying to get ready,” Anna says, holding up a sleeveless green blouse for inspection. It's a little sheer, so she puts it back and chooses a grey one instead. “I tried to love on you earlier and you wanted no part of it.”

By the time she hops into her jeans and gets her hair tamed and piled on her head, Alyssa comes waltzing into her room.

“You coulda knocked.”

“You coulda hid your key somewhere else.” Alyssa shrugs, then bends to scoop Frankie up in her arms, peppering kisses all over her tiny face.

Anna rolls her eyes and digs a pair of shoes out of the organizer hanging on her closet door. “We're gonna leave a little early. I haven't been to the grocery store yet and I need coffee.”

“You have an addiction.”

“I don't want to hear that from the woman who bleeds Dr. Pepper.”

“That's fair.” Alyssa waits a beat, swaying in place with Frankie cradled in her arms, then asks, “Heard from James today?”

The tinge of pink that blooms on Anna's cheeks is as instant as the smile on her lips. “Not yet. He knows I normally sleep in on weekends, so sometimes I don't hear from him until later.”

“Y'all are adorable.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Anna waves her off. She shoos Pickles out of the closet and slides the door closed behind her. “Are y'all ever gonna stop gloating about it?”

“No.”

Shaking her head, Anna grabs her wallet and phone off the nightstand and leads her sister back out to the front of the apartment. She checks that there's still kibble in the food dish and takes the time to refill the water bowl before they leave.

“So, where exactly is this house we're going to look at?” Alyssa asks as they slide into the Forester.

“It's in that little neighborhood off Route 20, towards the county line.”

“By the walking park or the honkytonk?”

“The honkytonk,” Anna laughs. “But the bar's far enough down the road that the noise won't bother me any. And the neighborhood's really nice. I drove through it last week before I made the appointment.”

“Sweet.”

Anna cranks the car on and takes a minute to get everything situated to her liking. The temperature of the air-conditioning, the strength of the fan. She chooses to play the radio and sets it to a local rock station, keeping the volume low enough to allow for conversation.

As she's reaching for the gearshift, her phone chimes from the dock she has stuck to her dashboard. It's a text from James, to her surprise, and despite the brevity of the message Anna's smile is radiant.

_Morning. Plans today?_

Wiggling giddily in her seat – and ignoring her sister's smugly cocked brow – Anna taps out a quick, but effusive reply.

_Morning! Alyssa and I are leaving now to see that house I was showing you. Y'all want to meet us for lunch? We should be done by then._

She waits a moment to back the car out, wanting to catch his response. Alyssa snorts.

“And you gave _me_ shit for fawning over Steve.”

“You and Steve were giving cavities to everyone within a fifty-mile radius of you,” Anna bites back, eyes lighting up when James's text comes through. “We're way less obvious about the PDA.”

It's true, and Alyssa can't deny it. Where she and Steve have no qualms about kissing and touching in public, Anna and James are much more reserved with their affections. Holding hands is normally their peak, with the occasional quick kiss here and there.

_Sounds good. See you then._

Not exactly a love letter, but by James's standards it's practically poetic. He prefers speaking aloud to texting, and with one hand the action normally vexes him. It's no skin off her nose; Anna's happy to hear from him either way.

She shoots back a single heart emoji and re-docks her phone before backing out of her parking place.

True to her word, she swings through Starbucks for coffee – and an iced tea for Alyssa because “coffee is the devil” - and croissants in lieu of a real breakfast.

She and Alyssa make pleasant conversation on the drive, which is close to twenty minutes. The house is on the outskirts of town, slightly secluded, and is exactly what Anna wants. It'll add time onto her commute to work, but it's worth it.

The apartment she has now is nice, and the supers have been good to her, but now that she's another year older and up for a promotion at work – which includes a nice pay raise – she's ready to have her own space.

She's also woman enough to admit that the change between her and James is a contributing factor. While it's early yet to be thinking of moving in together – though she's done plenty of that – Anna wants the privacy that comes with owning her own home, and a house will have more space for potential roommates than her current one-bedroom.

He's already spent the night with her several times since their return from Hawaii, and although it's been rather chaste Anna cherishes those hours spent together. He also graciously participated in a Zillow-binge a couple weeks ago, patiently humoring her and looking at every single house she pulled up.

She has a modest budget, but there were a few options that stood out. The house she's viewing today is actually James's favorite of the ones she'd showed him, and it happens that the owner is Tara's relative.

Tara, when she found out Anna was seriously in the market for a new place, had immediately pulled up the listing and explained how her aunt was selling the place to move to Lakeland. Her aunt had taken immaculate care of it and the price wasn't out of line, so Tara was sure Anna would love it.

She'd been right, too, Anna muses wryly. One look through the pictures and she'd fallen hard for the Tudor-style house. From what she'd seen the place had buckets of charm, and she hoped it would live up to the photographs.

“Your turn's coming up,” Alyssa says, ever the helpful navigator.

Anna dutifully flips her blinker on and curves onto the road, which is newly paved. Hope Valley Road is a pretty stretch of pavement, long and semi-winding, lined with quaint little houses in neatly-trimmed lots.

The spaces are dotted here and there with beautiful trees: grand live oaks draped with Spanish moss, flowering redbud and crepe myrtle, towering sycamore. Everything here is richly verdant, and Anna feels her excitement mounting.

The road is a dead end, but a block before there is a right-hand turn onto Rosewood Lane, which Anna smoothly glides onto. The lane is another dead end, and Anna's house is the last on the left.

They pull into the spacious driveway, parking next to a blue Prius that Anna assumes is the realtor's. Anna is up and out of the vehicle in a flash, eager to look inside the home.

Just the exterior of the red brick house is darling, and with pleasure Anna notes the screened-in porch off to the right.

The realtor, a woman so meticulously put together she could be anywhere from forty to sixty-five years old, comes down the front steps to greet them. Her nut-brown hair is perfectly coiffed and her outfit of a crisp blouse and powder blue skirt is both professional and pretty.

Neither her hair nor clothes show signs of wilting in the humidity, and Anna's a little jealous.

She's also intimidated by the woman's air of competence, but the open, friendly smile she gives them is nothing but genuine and sets Anna at ease.

“Hi,” she says, reaching to shake Anna's hand. “I'm Lori. You must be Anna.”

“I am.” Anna returns the shake firmly, gestures toward Alyssa. “This is my sister, Alyssa. I brought her along for company, and a second opinion.”

“It's so nice to meet you both. Why don't y'all come up this way and we'll take a look inside.”

They follow Lori up the front steps, taking a moment to peer into the porch. It's a neat little space, and to Anna's delight has a brick fireplace tucked away in one corner. She imagines having company over, sitting on the porch for drinks with a fire crackling away.

_Or guzzling sweet tea,_ she thinks, barely resisting the urge to fan herself in the heat.

The inside is a delight.

The living room is small, painted a soothing sage green, and also contains a fireplace. What gets her attention are the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves bolted into the walls on either side of the fireplace.

“Oh, look at these!” She runs her hand over them tenderly, already picturing the books she could arrange on the shelves. “Are they real wood?”

“Oh, yes,” Lori replies. “Stained maple. According to Mrs. Ferrars, the seller, her late husband built and installed them himself.”

“They're gorgeous.”

The kitchen is small with lemon yellow walls that immediately turn Alyssa off. Anna prefers a butter yellow herself, but the tiny space is cute with its gas stove-top and the diner-style table pushed against the window, like a sort of breakfast nook. Anna's charmed.

“That yellow is God-awful,” Alyssa says. “And I don't like that the stove is gas.”

“Well, I like yellow kitchens and prefer to cook with gas appliances. This kitchen is adorable. Look, I could put some linen curtains on this window, and start some herbs growing on the sill here above the sink.”

Alyssa levels her with a knowing stare. “You're going to buy this house.”

“We'll see. There's still a lot to look at and consider.”

“Oh no.” Alyssa shakes her head, following them into the dining room. “You're already imagining all the shit – I mean, things, sorry Miss Lori, that you're going to put in here and do. This is your house.”

Lori only laughs, entertained by their back-and-forth, and gestures to the room. “The dining room, like the living room and kitchen, will be fully furnished. Mrs. Ferrars is only taking a small portion of her furniture to Florida with her.”

“Oh, how nice! Now I won't have to buy a whole bunch of things.” Anna peers around the room with interest.

The walls are a rich, dark blue offset by the large windows on the far wall. A modern chandelier and a cherry wood table add a touch of warmth.

“Did Mr. Ferrars make this table, too?” Alyssa asks.

“He did. I'm told he was a talented carpenter, and at one time ran his own small business in the trade.”

Anna frowns. “Is she really okay leaving this behind?”

Lori nods. “I asked her the same thing, but she insists she wants the new owners to enjoy his craftsmanship.”

Anna's impressed by the seller's willingness to part with the table. She herself, being of a sentimental nature, struggles to throw away even greeting cards that are years old. She can't imagine willingly parting with something her departed husband had handmade for her.

The laundry room is the biggest she's ever seen, with wooden shelves built in above the front-facing washer and dryer. It's neat and efficient, and she likes it.

The bedrooms are interesting. The guestroom walls are papered with a faded floral pattern that has Alyssa fake-gagging, but Anna's inner old lady warms to it. It's a small room, but the full bed and oak dresser are part of the deal.

The master bedroom is painted a deep pine green, which lends a coolness to it. It's spacious enough to accommodate the king bed and still leave room enough to walk comfortably through. The master bathroom is admittedly rather small, but the boon of a clawfoot tub more than makes up for it.

What really sells Anna on the house – and it's the part she was most looking forward to after she made the appointment – is the backyard. It's small, but it's fenced in and comes with a tiny garden space.

They step onto the round brick patio and Anna sighs, utterly taken with the sight. There's a patio table already set up, complete with umbrella, and on the other side of a long flower bed is a covered hot tub with brick steps.

The garden is what gets her.

Mrs. Ferrars has, it seems, a green thumb of her own and the bed between the backdoor and the hot tub is brimming with knockout roses and leafy boxwood. Beyond the tub is a blooming myrtle tree, vivid red, and all around the perimeter of the yard are various bushes, and small clay pots of flowers: African marigolds, verbena, mixes of salvia and geranium.

It's perfect.

It's all so utterly perfect, and Anna wants it to be hers. She eases herself down into one of the patio chairs, looking around at the garden, picturing living there herself.

Lori comes up and sits across from her, eagerness bright in her expression. “So, what do you think?”

Anna casts one more glance about and then closes her eyes, going over in her mind everything she's seen so far. The house itself is perfect, exactly what she'd hoped it would be and everything she wants. But most importantly, in every room, anywhere she looked, she saw James.

James in the living room, curled on the couch with Frankie and Pickles, reading or napping. James in the kitchen, brewing coffee early in the morning, sitting next to her at the nook table.

James relaxing on the screened-in porch, with a fire crackling in the corner. James sitting at the patio, basking in the sun while she toiled with the flowers.

James curled around her in bed, tucked in close while they fall asleep.

Everywhere there is space for him, in her heart and in her home, and the sweetness of it is a gentle ache in her breast.

Maybe it's too soon by some standards to think of living with him, of sharing a home, but now that Anna has opened herself to him she can feel herself committing hard and fast – running headlong into their future.

She may be slow to heal, to try again, but now that her mind is made up there's no going back for her. She opens her eyes and faces Lori fully.

“I want it.” The words are blunt, and maybe referring to more than just the house, but Anna feels the rightness of them tingling on her tongue. “I want this house.”

Lori beams, clapping her hands together. “Oh, I was just hoping you'd say so! I think it's perfect for you, and I'm not just saying that because I'm trying to sell it.”

Alyssa rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “What'd I tell you? This is your house.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Out of curiosity,” Alyssa asks, turning sly. “How many times did you picture James in this house?”

Anna blushes, but doesn't try to hide her smile. “I lost count.”

Lori looks, if possible, even more delighted. “Oh? Are you married, engaged?”

“No, no,” Anna backpedals, tries to ignore the way her heart skips at the implication. “No, we're only...dating, for now.”

It doesn't seem like the right word to use, their relationship is so much more than _dating_ , but it's the easiest way to clarify the situation.

“It's probably too soon to be thinking of living together,” she continues, chewing her lip. “But I couldn't help it. It's so easy to see him there.”

Lori smiles gently, eyes kind. “I understand, but if it feels right to you then don't worry how it might seem to others. My partners and I have gone through a lot of – let's say, adversity, to get where we are now. It was worth it to just do what made us happy.”

Anna relaxes, heartened by the unexpected kinship with the older woman. “Thank you.”

“Oh, don't you worry over it. Now,” Lori whips out her phone, a smart looking device, and begins typing what Anna assumes are notes. “Presently there are no other offers on the house, and since Mrs. Ferrars wants to sell as soon as possible, I'm sure you'll be a shoe-in. I have some of the preliminary paperwork in my car, but we'll close officially when Mrs. Ferrars is available to meet with us. She wants to be present for that so she can meet you herself.”

“Of course,” Anna nods, heart pumping wildly with anticipation. She's really doing it! “I've already been approved by my bank, and I have enough to put down twenty percent.”

“Wonderful.” Lori nods to herself, making more notes. “Well, then. If you don't mind waiting a moment, I'll get the papers from my car for you to sign. Then I'll get in touch with Mrs. Ferrars and let you know when she's available.”

“Sounds great! We'll wait right here.”

When Lori disappears into the house, Alyssa plops down in the chair to Anna's left. “So you're really gonna buy it?”

“I am. It feels right.”

Alyssa nods. “You gonna ask James to move in?”

“Oh my God,” Anna groans, thwacking her on the arm. “You are terrible! Is it not enough for you that we're a couple now?”

“Honestly? No. I won't be satisfied until you're married, and I have a niece or nephew. Preferably both.”

“You are the worst, you know that?”

“And I pride myself on it. You could be more grateful, since I introduced y'all.”

“Technically, we met on our own...”

“Do you really wanna count that incident as your introduction?”

Anna laughs, remembering fondly how ripely _furious_ she'd been when James ruined her blouse, and then turned out to be the “great friend” of Steve's that Alyssa wanted her to meet.

Funny how things worked sometimes.

“I do,” she murmurs. She gives Alyssa a soft look. “And I am grateful. If you hadn't snapped up Steve Rogers, I probably wouldn't have met James. So thank you.”

Alyssa's mouth twists comically. “Shut up, you're gonna make me cry.”

“That's not hard to do.”

“Fuck off.”

Lori returns with the papers, and Anna happily scrawls her signature behind every _x_. Within minutes, she's done everything she needs and then she and Lori are shaking hands.

“Anna it has been such a pleasure meeting you today,” Lori says, as they walk back out to their cars. “I just know you're going to love living here.”

“I think I will, too. Thank you so much for all your help.”

“You are welcome, honey. Like I said, I'll confer with Mrs. Ferrars on a closing date and give you a call back. You should hear from me no later than Monday afternoon.”

“Yes ma'am, I'm looking forward to it.”

“Alright, y'all enjoy the rest of your Saturday.”

Lori takes off pretty quickly, likely to one of her other appointments, but Anna lingers in the driveway, simply looking up at the house. _Her_ house.

She can scarcely believe it.

“You coming or nah?” Alyssa calls, leaning on the passenger side door. “We gotta meet the guys soon. The house isn't going anywhere.”

Anna sighs, a happy sound, and walks back to the car. “I know. Where do you wanna go for lunch?”

“Eh, let's go to my place.”

Anna eyes her skeptically. “You really want to eat at the same place you work?”

“Shit yeah,” Alyssa replies. “I eat for free, and the guys get 25% off for being military.”

“Alright then.” Anna shrugs, pulling out her phone.

_Just wrapped up at the house. Diner in 30?_

Before she has time to set the phone down and start the car, James's response comes through.

_Meet you there. How was the house?_

She grins. _Perfect. I'm getting it._

_Happy for you, doll. Tell me about it when I see you._

_You got it. See you soon!_

She follows it up with the heart emoji, then starts the car. Then she simply sits there, thinking, processing the fact that she signed her name off and started the process of buying her first home.

“You good over there?”

“I'm buying a house!!” It bursts out of her, the excitement, the pride that she's finally made it to this precious milestone in her life.

“You're buying a house,” Alyssa confirms, smiling bemusedly. “You gotta tell Mama and Daddy.”

“I know, I will.” She backs out of the drive, heads toward town. “I will. But let's meet the guys first.”

“Thank God, I'm fucking starving.”

Anna laughs, pats her sister on the thigh. “We'll get you fed.”

Alyssa cranks the radio back up and Anna, uncaring of the heat, rolls the windows down. They have a grand time belting out Bruce Springsteen, dancing around and riding the high of Anna's achievement.

It's a damn good day.

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End file.
